Published: Sunday, September 23, 2012, 12:01 a.m.

In 1991, just one in 10 workers told the Employee Benefit Research Institute that they planned to wait to retire until they were older than 65. By 2007, three in 10 said that.

This year? More than four in 10.

Boomers cruising toward a traditional retirement suffered a financial comeuppance in the prolonged economic slump that began in late 2007. The downturn sapped jobs, stock and housing values, and interest on savings.

Many were also caught in the shift from defined-benefit pension plans to 401(k) plans that required workers to contribute toward their own retirement savings. Some didn't, a choice that will leave them short financially.

Small wonder that, according to the Pew Research Center, boomers are the gloomiest of all age groups about the health and future of their finances. Boomers were more likely than other age groups to tell Pew researchers that they lost money on investments since the recession hit. Nearly six in 10 said their household finances worsened.

Finally, employment-based health insurance for many retirees has been withering away, which is causing older workers to cling to paychecks.

Overall, the stage is set for a new normal: Working in retirement.

The number of older workers has grown more rapidly than any other age group in the past few years. This year, 18.6 percent of those 65 and older were participating in the labor force, compared with 13 percent in 2002.

At the same time, older workers represent a disproportionately large share -- 40 percent -- of people who have been trying to get back into the workforce for at least a year.

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Retirement for baby boomers is a moving target